The music industry is a continuously growing and extremely popular sector. Different artists from all over the world bravely step into the world of music every day, never knowing where it’s going to take them or whether they’re going to succeed or fail in the industry. The style of music they’ve chosen to make and the kind of people they want to hear their music will ultimately decide the future of the musician they’re putting in.
Vishal Mehta, a famous musician and drummer of India’s biggest indie pop band “Euphoria” and “Vishal Mehta Live” aims to define the difference between mainstream and independent music and its artists.
Have you recently heard the radio?? Then you have already experienced the best-known music style. Mainstream is not just the music you hear on the radio, but also the music videos you watch on Television.
On the other hand the direction and creative content of the music he created is completely independent. They can explore lyrical content and innovative musical styles that are excluded from the mainstream.
As “an artist, you take this opportunity to express music in your writing and your own individuality in your music”, says Vishal Mehta. He also says that OTT platforms helped independent musicians to build up their talents without “big labels” crutches, so that is the reason he again all set to launch his second album “Only You” on 28th February, 2020.
Although these two music classifications goes hand in hand, there are some very large differences. Mainstream artists/musicians rarely have restrictions on locations where they choose to perform. Venues are more willing to let them perform because of the amount of money they make in profits. Performances are well monitored and artists may not interact as well with their fans. As an independent artist/musicians, you may not be allowed to perform at certain venues because of the fan base and the music you promote. Venues may charge more for performances on account of the fan base that these artists have accumulated. These performances are also monitored, but not to the same extent as if they were mainstream performance. Crowd participation and interaction is a big part of how their fans are entertained.
Independent artists have full control over the direction of their music. They also have full control of distribution, marketing, artwork, messaging, deadlines, and more. In addition, an independent artist has the free will to make decisions about his creative vision. It’s the ideal scenario for a lot of artists.The digital age brings together a variety of music services and tools for independent artists. Musicians have access to music distribution, marketing, streaming, merchandising, and other services. The internet also makes it easy for musicians to reach out to new audiences. They can deliver their music to digital music stores, music platforms, and streaming services without a record deal. Whereas established mainstream musicians have the resources and funding to provide support for mastering, distribution, album artwork creation, marketing, merchandising, touring, music videos, and other expenses. The budget and the resources available depend, however, on the label. One significant benefit of mainstream artist is their existing networks.
There are a lot of independent artists out there who have gone mainstream.Artists choose to leave and go mainstream for their own personal reasons.Artists who want to retain master rights, keep 100% of profits, have complete creative control, and are a music business expert may consider themselves independent. Artists who want more freedom to work on music, do not mind less profits, and want more exposure may consider signing with a record label or we can say it as a mainstream artist. Independent artists sometimes struggle and fight to become a mainstream artist, but then realize what they ultimately wanted is what they’ve been doing all the time. No one said that being a musician would be easy, and that acceptance would happen immediately or ever.The opportunities of independent artists/musicians have never been greater. Can’t thank social media enough to make an independent artist’s career more workable than ever before.
In closing, mainstream and independent music is always going to be around. Constantly growing and changing with every generation. In the end, what genre you decide to keep up with is up to you. It’s the fan, the listener.Remember, you are the only one responsible for your success.
In Vishal Mehta’s word, “Inspiration is all what you see, when you feel that this thing might have happened to you also and then how would you feel. So wearing the same hat and thinking similar inspired me. Hence the Album.”
“Only you” is all about two lovers. They realized that they have feeling for each other, but destiny separated them. The album is all about featuring the longlost’s love, they had for each other after separation.
